A Philosopher in Oz

Category: Musings

Daniel D. Hutto (below right) is Senior Professor of Philosophical Psychology and Associate Dean of Law, Humanities and the Arts, at the University of Wollongong. and member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts. His recent research focuses primarily on issues in philosophy of mind, psychology and cognitive science. He is best known for promoting enactive and […]

Last April, I co-organised the workshop “The role of the body in virtual reality” at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Two of the talks given were, I think, of particular interest for raising philosophical questions on body and beauty in relation to technology. Stephen Gadsby (Macquarie University) spoke about “Disorders, body representations and virtual reality” […]

Virtual reality seems to share some qualities with the mythical Phoenix. Every few years it is hyped up enormously, only to die fairly quickly again. Every decade or so, the cycle reboots and the hype rises from its ashes. The most recent examples are the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive and they might actually break this cycle. What is so special about these latest VR-incarnations? And how can we, in the words of philosopher David Chalmers , use them to address Big Questions in philosophy?

Walking from home to my office only takes about five minutes. This morning, while walking to the office, I had a chat with a Chinese guy whom I met in the elevator at home. A chipper fellow, he was in his final year of studying accountancy and planning to do a Master’s after his graduation. What started out with him inquiring if I was on my way to a class as well and what I studied—“Oh Philosophy? Good good!”—soon turned into a verbal avalanche with him sharing his life’s story. Divulging what I study sometimes has that effect on people. I’m usually not so talkative myself in the mornings, but I’m fine with listening to other people’s musings and it made for a nice diversion of my normal morning walk. Originally from Shanghai, he had been here only for a couple of years. Yet he seemed distinctly Australian to me.

…or actually, more like a crouch-off as there is not much on here yet. First posts are usually quite boring, so let’s just say I will be extending my mind here with info on philosophy and my personal thoughts. You can decide whether or not you find them interesting. But you should.